DoLLs
by Moi Fah
Summary: Revamped with different ending! When the Outer Senshi lose their house to a daimon attack, they are invited to stay at Genkai's temple. Hotaru has a doll that she can't part with...and it looks like Hiei? SMxYYH \HieixHotaru\


_**A/N: Well, here's something I've been planning on revamping for quite awhile, obviously along with my InuYasha story that I've failed to update for 5 years. It's just that...I don't understand how anyone ever read through any of that (or Doll) with the crappy way I wrote it (I was young) and the bad formatting accident that happened when I uploaded the prologue. Ugh, anyway, back on this story. This story, I've decide to rewrite and revamp simply because I think it could be written better and actually be spell-checked this time, not to mention that I plan on taking the song lyrics out and such. I was a little obsessed with another anime at that time and I want to give this story another chance at being better. Also, alternate ending? What could she be thinking? Well, that's why it's been posted as a separate thing instead of me just uploading it over the old story. Don't worry, you don't have to go and read the other draft first or anything like that, but for sentimental reasons, I plan on leaving the other one up. Also, I'm thinking about restarting the Thieves' Den...yes, that old story from about 5 years ago. I think I could finally do that story justice. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, you'll just have to wait and see...**_

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**Title: Doll2**

**Author: Moi Fah**

**Genre: General/ Humor/ Romance/ Action/Drama/Friendship**

**Crossover: Sailor Moon/ Yu Yu Hakusho**

**Version: Anime (Post-Series) and Manga (Post Series)**

**Pairings/ Characters: Hotaru Tomoe/ Hiei, the Outers, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama**

**Word Count: 7416**

**Feedback: If you feel so moved...**

**Rating: K+**

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"Saturn, it's coming up on your left!" called Uranus, sending an effective warning to the purple-clad senshi. "Yes!" she called out, swiftly dodge-rolling to avoid yet another flaming projectile from the daimon-creature. This was how it had been lately though...just when the Senshi had thought all their enemies were finally gone, a few more stragglers showed up to fight the bad fight. For some reason, the Senshi had a sneaking suspicion that these remaining _youma_ had been teaming up with _youkai_ lately, being able to sneak around freely in the human world until they attacked a poor soul for its heart crystal or its energy. This only made sense then that the Sailor Senshi and the Spirit Detectives should team up, despite neither of them having known of the others existence before Sensui Shinobu had tried to re-open the portal between _Makai_ and _Ningenkai_. Setsuna, after all, wasn't going to stand for random-portal/dimensional rifts opening up on her watch.

For this particular daimon to have survived for so long, it had to have been smart and skillful, Saturn deduced and simple attacks from Uranus and Neptune just weren't taking the thing down. Pluto managed to knock it around a bit with her Dead Scream attack, but that only served to make the daimon angrier...it was clear after that, that this daimon was not the kind they were used to fighting. However, Saturn didn't feel the need to do anything drastic...there was no sense in using her forbidden powers and killing herself just to get rid of this annoying monster.

"Saturn, we're going to hit it straight on!" Uranus called out to her once more from across the street. Neptune had apparently immobilized it with her mirror, and Uranus had summoned her Space Sword, quickly giving Saturn light to her plan. The two Senshi nodded to each other to confirm the plan, then rapidly pushed off onto the ground and flew into a run at breakneck speed with weapons bared. The daimon wailed and yelled, for once not pathetically begging for its life, as both blades cut through it.

After the daimon exploded into dust, which was gracefully blown away in the wind, the Outer Senshi quickly de-henshined into their pajamas to assess the damage. "Is anyone hurt?" Hotaru asked in concern, but the other three women quietly shook their heads. Haruka gave a long sigh, "None of us are hurt...but the house is..." the other Senshi turned to take a look for themselves. Earlier that night, the daimon had apparently snuck into their house and had activated its powers through the roof and broad side of the house.

It was Michiru's turn to be flabbergasted, "Our beautiful house!" she proclaimed, wrapping her arms around herself. Fortunately, and very luckily for the daimon, it had missed her art gallery room which was located on the left side of the house. However, that hadn't saved the other pieces she'd hung throughout.

"My room got it the worst..." Hotaru observed, being clearly able to see the undamaged half of her bedroom with the outer edges coated black from fire. Hotaru gasped suddenly, causing the three older woman to look at her, "Oh no, I forgot about that!" she announced cryptically, quickly running back across the road and up the stairs inside. "Be careful!" Haruka called out after her, knowing that the house was unstable without some of its supporting beams. Haruka gave another sigh; she was a tired senshi, "Well, we're just going to have to get it fixed is all. But where can we stay? Our summer home isn't ready yet, right?" the blond looked to her teal-colored lover for confirmation and Michiru shook her head in the affirmative.

Setsuna, who had been very quiet until now, posed a good question, "Huh, but what will we tell the repairmen? That an airplane crashed through the ceiling...?" she trailed off in doubt, making the other two hang their heads in confusion. Suddenly, a small glimmer caught the ocean senshi's eye, "Hey, what's that Hotaru's holding?" she questioned after following the shine back to it's source; Hotaru's bedroom.

"I think I might know..." Setsuna smiled to herself before heading off towards the direction of their house, making a gesture for the other two to follow her. They simply shrugged their shoulders.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Hotaru was lamenting over her broken treasure. "Oh no, it's ruined..." she whispered, carefully picking around bits and pieces of glass that resonated brightly from the moonlight overhead. She picked up a wooden frame that obviously no longer had its glass encasing, which also meant that the picture inside had nearly become ripped in half. "It was one of a kind..." she spoke again to herself, carefully bringing the ripped halves back together again, and when done, she couldn't help but smile as the picture brought together her own smiling face, and the confused but cute face of Hiei. This picture told a story, one that she and only a few others really knew about, but it still held a special place in her memories regardless.

It had been a couple of weeks ago, right around the time Sensui and Itsuki had disappeared after that final battle. Everyone had come back to the _Ningenkai_ upon Yusuke's suggestion for a bit of rest and momentary peace. And what better place to rest than Genkai's temple? It was a very serene setting, and even the die-hard battlers could still train there as they pleased. Not to mention, as Usagi so clearly pointed out, there was a private beach all for them! The girl had more than likely discovered the place when she was out skipping training exercises with the others or when she felt her snack gauge was getting low.

As everyone began to prepare for their day of fun, Usagi and Chibi-Usa made it a point to collect the camera from their parent's bedroom. After all, this might have been the last time they'd ever have fun together. Lately, there were rumors that tensions were running high in _Makai_.

By the end of the day, they'd nearly used the entire roll of film by taking a picture of everybody, whether it was a single or group picture. It was Chibi-Usa who was first to notice that they didn't have a picture of Hotaru, and now that they thought about it, a Hiei picture wasn't in their collection either. Well, Hiei they kind of figured, being who he was and all, but Hotaru? That was rather strange. Chibi-Usa hated to admit it, but she'd spent the entire day taking pictures with _Odango_-head rather than playing with her friend...mother and daughter bonding at its finest.

And so, the the duo set out to find their friends, even if it meant going far off course from the beach and into the rough underbrush. At least they'd remember to bring their sandals, Usagi thanked the Moon for that as rough brush scraped against their bare legs. It wasn't long however, before they found a tiny, beaten path. The two argued briefly over whose fault it was that they hadn't seen the path sooner, but continued on their way. "I had no idea it stretched so far..." Usagi remarked, looking around at the forest they were now in, readjusting the strap of the camera around her neck. However, she was quickly 'shushed' by the shorter, pink-haired girl, "Quiet down, _Odango_-head! I think I hear noises!" the two tried as silently as possible to sneak up on whatever it was that was making these questionable sounds. Suddenly, Usagi put her hand on Chibi's shoulder, "I think you need to wait right here and let me make sure it's alright."

Even through her protestations, the blond future queen succeeded in making her future daughter stay put. She crept even further into the bushes and when she came to a clearing, she found the source to be...a sparring match between Hotaru and Hiei. Usagi couldn't help but have the irresistible urge to snap her fingers in disappointment; she was hoping for a kiss between them!

"Wow, Hotaru-chan is fighting Hiei! I hope she wins!" piped up Chibi-Usa from her side in a near-whisper. Usagi bit in her tongue quickly to stop her oncoming scream and grabbed at her heart in surprise. She delivered a harsh bop onto Chibi's head, "What is wrong with you, _baka_? Scaring me like that...!"

"Who are you calling _baka_, you _Odango_-head!" Chibi shot back, still in a hushed voice.

"Be quiet, or you'll give us away and that means no pictures for our scrapbook!"

"Why don't you try being quiet? You're the one blabbing your bigmouth!"

Suddenly, before the fight could escalate into hair pulling, the two of them heard Hotaru yell out, "I give!" and turned just in time to see her glaive and _fuku_ disappear, and her body sink downwards to her knees. In the blink of an eye, Hiei had already sheathed his sword and ran over to catch her. "_Daijobou_?" he asked tentatively, checking her body over; making sure he hadn't harmed her severely.

"_Hai_." she answered as she regained her footing with his help, "I'm just a little hot and tired is all. Not exactly picturesque though, eh, Usagi-chan?" Hotaru giggled as the duo realized they'd been found out. The two girls then jumped out from behind the brush, Usagi with camera in hand, as Hotaru wrapped her arms around his neck. And, Usagi clicked the camera.

"Come on, Hotaru! Grab some stuff and come downstairs!" Haruka shouted as Hotaru awoke from her reverie only to find that she had been hugging the picture to her breast in a loving-manner, and blushed. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a safe way to take the picture with her as she began to pack various items like her clothes. Instead, she put what she could back in the frame and hid it safely under her bed. That way, it wouldn't be found and bothered with by anyone...at least until it came time for the repairs.

Once downstairs, with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder, she heard Setsuna call out her name. "Hotaru-chan, aren't you forgetting someone?" Hotaru turned to see the older woman smiling with her arms hidden behind her back. Before she could even ask who, the green-haired woman pulled forth a plushy doll. Hotaru gasped in wonder and quickly rushed over to retrieve, "I can't believe I almost forgot him..." she observed, giving it a hug. This doll was her favorite possession as of late because 1: Setsuna had made it especially for her...a labor of love, and 2: It resembled Hiei perfectly. With the same spiky hair and red eyes, it was almost a carbon copy...well, at least in doll form.

The senshi of Pluto and Saturn then headed outside to join Haruka and Michiru in their yellow convertible. Once everything had been thrown in the back, Hotaru realized she had absolutely no idea where they were going, and so, she asked. "To Genkai's temple." Haruka answered simply, "I called over there, and managed to get a hold of Kurama, who said we could stay with them. The guys are all staying over there as well, so let's try not to piss Genkai off too much." Haruka gave a little laugh, turning to cast a glance at Hotaru who sat directly behind her in the backseat, then quickly turned her attention back to the road.

Hotaru gave secret smile of her own...that meant Hiei would be there too.

* * *

"Setsuna, could you wake Hotaru up, please?" Michuru asked, getting out of the car to help Haruka bring in the multitude of suitcases. "Sure." Setsuna answered back to her as she nudged Hotaru who was sleeping peacefully beside her in the backseat. Softly, she spoke when she realized that the nudge hadn't worked, "Wake up, Firefly."

"Mmkay..." Hotaru whispered once Setsuna got out of the car, however she simply fell back asleep, leaving Haruka to carry her inside and lay her down on a spare futon in an empty room. Hotaru turned over after a minute, rubbing her eyes to help adjust herself to the new surroundings. There was no clock present but it must have been around three or four in the morning. Still, she forced herself to sit up, briefly thinking about getting dressed in some day clothes rather than staying in her purple pajamas. Cute, but they were still embarrassing to be dressed in when you were around a bunch of boys. Leaning over, she put a hand against the wood flooring to help push herself up, but what she felt at first was not wood...instead, her hand was covered in blood.

'Blood?' her mind yelled when her mouth could not. This blood was still fresh, and there appeared to be a long trail of it leading from her room over to the next. Surely, whatever had been bleeding on the floor was friendly and not a foe. Still, something might have slipped inside right under their noses, and so, gripping her Hiei doll tightly in hand, she slowly and silently made her way over to the sliding door that separated the room. She slid back only a tiny portion of the door and what she saw nearly made her gasp again. It was Hiei!

"Is this his room? Could this be his blood? Was he sparring in here?" Hotaru wondered as a multitude of thoughts continued to pass through her mind. 'Oh no! He is bleeding!' Hotaru confirmed her suspicion as she watched him drop due to his bleeding leg and growl. A tiny puddle had begun to form where he was sitting at, and after he growled out a few more 'damns', Hotaru took this opportunity to enter the room. Hiei immediately felt the presence of another being enter his room, and with his katana in hand, quickly lunged at the intruder. The person was instantly back against the wall with his blade at their throat.

Hotaru, who had only been frightened for a second, cheerfully said, "Hi Hiei!" then leaned forward slightly, and kissed his nose. He moved back with a noticeable blush on his face, "Why the hell are you here?" he asked, sheathing his sword.

"Well, earlier tonight, our house got destroyed when we were fighting," it wasn't a surprise to her that he didn't know, he normally chose to stay far away from the others unless he absolutely had to be there, "...and so, Genkai said that we could stay here until the house is fixed." Hotaru finished as she moved to sit the doll in her arms on a low-sitting table.

"What is that?" Hiei asked with eyebrow twitching, obviously referring to the atrocity she'd just set down.

"Oh, do you like it? Setsuna-san made it for me! Isn't it cute?" she asked before turning away, looking for something. Hiei outright refused to acknowledge that...who on Earth would want to answer a question like that? Strangely though, he didn't feel that it was a creepy thing for her to make a doll out of him, more like it was just typical. He couldn't really put it into words.

Suddenly, she gasped, "You! Sit down!" she commanded with rare fervor. She couldn't have an injured man wandering around while she was looking for a first-aid kit.

"Why?" he questioned with as much force, not suited to being told what to do.

"Because, you're injured and I can heal you!"

"It doesn't matter-" It wasn't that he disliked her powers of healing, no, he was rather intrigued by it. Not only did it remind him of Yukina, but it had a very relaxing aura. The only drawback, and the both of them were perfectly aware of it, was that every time Hotaru used those strange powers, she was transferring her life energy into her patient, leaving her weak and tired after the whole thing was said and done. Apparently, this happened less and less after the possession by Mistress 9 wore off, but when Hotaru pushed herself too far, she would collapse.

"Yes it does." she managed to shoot back, "If you don't want me to heal you, then I suppose I can let you get by with natural healing." When he'd been lost in thought, she'd apparently found that first-aid kit she'd been looking for. It wouldn't have been a surprise to him if she'd been carrying one on her person.

The gash on his leg was tremendously deep, and too far up on his leg, around his upper thigh, and it wasn't easily reached . Due to this, she had to crawl between his legs basically, and doctor the wound from there. The task proved quite hard, because it was almost impossible for her to tie the bandage with his pants still on, and he of course refused to take them off. When she had finally secured the knot of the bandage after what had seemed like a lifetime, she sat back on her legs and turned up to look at him for confirmation.

"Oh no! I should have noticed this!" she exclaimed, causing him to jump in surprise. What the hell was wrong now? "Your nose is bleeding too, I should have noticed this..." she repeated again, vanishing once more from his eyesight and returning with a hand-full of tissues which she promptly, but gently, clamped over his nose. It took only a moment for him to regain his senses, "Alright, you can let go of me now!" he commanded, grabbing her tiny wrist in an outwardly threatening manner; his speech tone made this a little difficult as he sounded a lot funnier with his nose pinched.

Hotaru gave a soft giggle due to this, and simply scooted closer, "Sorry, but the tissues have to stay on there just a little longer."

"I can hold them myself." Hiei assured her, trying to push her off in the process.

"I know for a fact that you won't leave these here, and besides, I'm fully trained to heal any kind of injury."

He growled, "Get off!"

She responded, "No!"

Back and forth the two went, until Hotaru lost her hold on the tissues this in turn caused Hiei to fall over on his back, and Hotaru to fall down with him. By pure accident, upon Hotaru's landing on his chest, their lips met.

Time seemed to freeze at that exact moment, giving just enough leeway for a lone daimon pod to slip inside their room. It seemed to take notice of them and its new surroundings inside the room, apparently "looking" around for a suitable target to take possession of...that odd-looking doll looked pretty good. It silently morphed inside, the pod opening ever-so-slightly to allow the monster to attach itself, giving the doll a tiny pulse. Things seemed to pick back up once more when the very palpable silence was interrupted, "HEY, SHORTY'S GETTIN' SOME AND I'M NOT!" It was Kuwabara, and Yusuke was with him as well.

Hotaru quickly shot up. What would happen if Haruka had heard that? She'd murder Hiei...and probably herself as well, Hotaru thought morbidly. In a blushing fury, she jumped to her feet, clutching the collar of her pajama top, grabbed the doll, and went back to her room.

"You idiots," Hiei growled, "Get the hell out of here!" he yelled.

"Don't get mad at us!" Yusuke said playfully, "We were just coming to tell you that they had come, but apparently-"

"GET OUT!" And with that, Hiei violently kicked them out of the room.

* * *

Back inside her own room, Hotaru couldn't help but sniffle, 'That was so embarrassing. He probably hates me even more now...' She rolled onto her side, coincidentally rolling on top of the doll as well. Pulling it out from under her, she held it up to her eye-level and stared into its ruby-colored button eyes as if they held all the answers in the world in their depths. She sniffed again before hugging the doll to her chest.

Unknown to her, Hiei was watching her with his Jagan Eye, carefully and covertly spying on her actions . 'Humans are so pathetic. She got upset over something as ridiculous as that? Feh.' he scoffed. At that moment, he was tempted to turn away and just let her cry, but something... "Hey," he started low.

'Hiei?' Hotaru questioned mentally, sitting up and turning her attention over to the simple shoji screen door that separated their rooms. "Yes?" she returned simply, afraid of what he might announce. He'd probably storm off to _Makai_ like he always did when something was troubling him and he didn't know how to deal with it. It seemed to her like that Mukuro-guy had the answers to all his problems. Even now, she'd still never met this Mukuro-person, but she could already feel inside herself a bit of dislike. She knew this was the wrong way to act towards someone she'd never met, but Hiei apparently had no intention of introducing them whatsoever. After all, the only time she'd been allowed in Makai was when they were fighting Sensui, and even then, she was just free-falling before transforming into Eternal Sailor Saturn and using her wings for flight.

"Quit crying," he spoke up again, "it annoys me." Hotaru couldn't help but smile as her face turned red. Typical behavior of his...

Hiei stood up to his full height on the other side of the door before sliding it open, but when he did, he was tackled into a fierce hug by Hotaru. She had forgotten to let go of that hideous doll, so now the damn thing was stuck in-between their bodies. Hotaru pulled back slightly and raised her head up to kiss him. Hotaru's hands went from around his stomach to his neck, and the doll hit the floor. Suddenly, a tremendous force tried to blow them apart, but Hiei quickly caught onto to this and moved Hotaru out of harm's way, holding her much like a princess.

"My doll!" she called in concern once she was able to refocus her eyesight. A powerful energy had ripped clean through the doll's stomach, and was now emerging from inside of it. Once the daimon had collected its energy together, its powerful aura exploded around them, and when it disappeared, all that remained was a black shadow.

"What the hell..." Hiei trailed off, sword at the ready. Hotaru, who had been set down, stood behind him to offer support, "It's a daimon monster! It must have planted itself inside my doll when we weren't looking!" But it was strange...didn't the daimon monsters usually have a certain theme about them? It was odd that it would appear as a simple shadow. Hiei only rolled his red eyes at her information...that was pretty obviously, no matter what kind of monster it happened to be.

Abruptly, the shadow released a hideous smile with sharpened fangs, white against its black form, "This won't take too long." it muttered gruffly in an almost inaudible voice. The shadow then lifted off of the ground and lunged straight at them. Hiei braced himself to block the attack, but remembered that Hotaru was right behind him. "Move!" Hiei yelled as he pushed Hotaru to the side, and attempted to slash the shadow in two. However, the shadow remained unharmed as his sword passed right through it. The shadow continued and flew right through Hiei's body, causing him to collapse, but the shadow didn't stop there and phased right through the wall behind him.

"Hiei!" Hotaru called out, pushing herself up and coming back over to him with her hand laying on his shoulder, "Are you alright?" He shakily tried to get back to his feet, but only managed to stay on his knees. "Dammit..." he growled, as Hotaru placed both her hands on his shoulder, also having taken notice that the wound on his leg had opened back up. Damn, if he'd known all of this would happen tonight, he'd have let Hotaru heal him earlier. Jerking his head back up, the two of them looked around the now quiet room...surely, the thing wouldn't have just run away like that without killing them, he wondered.

Finally, the shadow appeared once again, walking at a rather calm pace. However, it was no longer correct to call this thing a shadow...it looked just like Hiei!

"Anyone I attack automatically gives up their DNA code to me, and everything else about them. Height, weight, blood type...everything, and not to mention, my strength increases or decreases with that person. If that person is strong, I too shall become just as strong." the now gray-colored daimon happily announced as it threw its head back in laughter, "Oh yes, and of course, this!" The daimon smirked as it brought forth a heart crystal.

"No!" Hotaru screamed, that was why his condition appeared to so bad. "Hiei," she said, "It's got your heart crystal. You won't be able to move without it..." Hotaru was holding onto his shoulder as if her life depended on it.

"I don't care," he stated, climbing to his feet. It wasn't like he had any idea of what that was, but if had something to do with a heart, it didn't matter as he didn't have one anyways. "I don't have one, remember?" he seemed to say in a joking manner. If he was lucky, he'd have about 10 minutes to beat this thing.

"Wait! Let me help you!" she stated, jumping as well, but he quickly and rather harshly shot her down. Hotaru only gave a nod of her head after a minute or two of deep thinking. She knew how he was when it came to fighting. If it got to be too much for him, she'd transform and try to lead the thing outside. After all, they didn't need that giant dragon of his destroying Genkai's temple after they'd finally found a place to stay for the night.

The daimon gave out a sharp laugh, one that Hotaru couldn't ever remember hearing from the real Hiei,"You're still thinking of fighting me? I'll have to commend you for that." The daimon who was still disguised as Hiei screeched, and drew an identical sword from around its waist.

'One swing of my sword is probably all I can muster...' Hiei thought, as he waited for the daimon to attack him. If this monster was supposed to be him, not only did it possess his strengths, but it also possessed his weaknesses. All the real Hiei had to do, was attack it in one of his blind spots.

"You know swordsman, that say that the original one is always better, but in this instance perhaps it doesn't apply." In a flash, the fake Hiei disappeared and reappeared with Hotaru in its arms, "I wonder though, would a replacement be an improvement?" the daimon asked, holding Hotaru tightly around her waist and neck. 'That's it! I have to transform!' thought Hotaru, reaching for the henshin wand that was supposed to be in her pocket. It wasn't there. Damn, she cursed mentally, looking over at a corner of the room where her bag of clothes lay situated after the daimon's explosion of power. Haruka had told her many times that she should only rely on her own power, but it looked like Hiei was going to have to get her out of this mess. She turned her attention over to him, sweat noticeable on his brow. The short time he had was running out out, and when he passed out, the daimon would surely take her heart crystal too and flee. No, she couldn't let that happen! She had to prove somehow that she wasn't weak!

She studied his face briefly and decided he must be deciding on a strategy to attack his own blind spots, and whether or not the daimon was telling the complete truth. True, it might have looked like Hiei, but would it have made so obvious a mistake as tell where its weaknesses were? He was going to have to beat this thing one way or another...or did he? The gears in Hotaru's mind slowly begin to turn as a very unlikely thing came to her mind. She'd seen Minako do this hundreds of times to get a date! Quickly, Hotaru began to breath heavily as if someone had cranked up the heat past 100, and since she only had one free arm anyway, she used that hand to unbutton the top button of her pajamas. With bated breath, she looked up dreamily towards her captor and said, "Please...if you really are Hiei, will you please help me out?" she asked sweetly referring to the remaining buttons.

Needless to say, while the real Hiei turned away with an embarrassed blush, the daimon copycat wasn't doing his best to hold his nosebleed in. 'That's it...' he decided, as Hotaru wriggled herself free from the monsters clutches. He quickly rushed at the monster, giving two swift slashes in an 'x'-formation to the daimon's chest, and this caused the monster to instantly explode into a pile of dust. And with that, Hiei fell down from exhaustion.

"Oh no!" Hotaru cried, quickly retrieving the very tiny and diminishing light of the heart crystal that lay centered in the pile of monster dust. She quickly and carefully brought it back over to his person and allowed his body to accept it. Hiei didn't awaken immediately, so Hotaru went over to her futon and retrieved the tiny pillow to put under his head. She sighed tiredly and scooted backwards towards the nearest wall to rest against it...it was almost sunrise. Opening her purple eyes, she spied the pile of the monster's dust and knew that she'd have to hide it somewhere without the other senshi knowing. There was no need to alert them after all, since she and Hiei had been able to handle it without too much incident. Especially since no one had heard the monster and/or felt it's presence...that certainly was strange. But back to business, maybe there was a broom somewhere that she could use to sweep the dust outside or under a rug or-

Hiei stirred, then jerked away, and she crawled over to him. "How do you feel?" she asked softly, still on her knees. "I'm not dead, am I?" she shook her head in a negative fashion, even though she knew he needed no answer. "Well, you won!" Hotaru cheered, again trying to make conversation with him. He'd probably just clam up in anger though, considering the daimon monster had gotten the better of him during the fight. Hiei merely turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye, and happened to catch sight of that stupid doll...it must have landed right around here when the daimon's form reverted back into whatever it had been possessing. Hotaru realized that these monsters would simply explode into dust when killed unlike when Sailor Moon used her scepter on them and reverted them back to their egg forms. Hotaru turned to follow his vision, "Oh...do you really think the doll is stupid? I can get rid of it...if you want..." she trailed off.

"Do what you want with it." he ordered sharply, then lowered the tone of his voice, "I don't care. It's not...completely ridiculous..." This caused Hotaru to smile, "That's good." she responded happily, before falling forward onto him in a deep sleep. What a foolish human, he decided. Of course her body needed to sleep. He sighed slightly as he picked her up along with the pillow and returned them both back to the futon, laying his black jacket upon her before leaving.

* * *

Hotaru awoke the next morning to an empty room, void of battle signs and monster dust. Hiei was nowhere to be seen either, and neither was he in the room next to hers. She released a heavy breath that was rather on the emotionless side, and scurried over to the corner of the room that held her clothes and such. She dressed typically, nothing too out of the ordinary with her black top and skirt. She pulled on a pair of black socks due to habit, not because she planned to go outside later or anything.

Coming into the main room, a multitude of people were already settled around the small _kotatsu _which had probably seen its last use a couple of weeks ago. Summer was coming fast. From the looks of it, Michiru had probably forced Haruka out of bed early this morning to make the female racer go and buy breakfast for everyone as an act of courtesy for letting them stay. She was greeted briefly before the guys returned to their argument about nothing, and then took her own place at the table. Hiei wasn't here either...and this was more than likely a good thing seeing as what happened next.

"Hmm, so, I heard quite a bit of noise last night..." Haruka started, setting down her bowl and chopsticks in front of her. "I wonder what that could have been..." It was too hard for Hotaru to tell if her father-figure was in a playful mood or ready to go out on a demon-hunting spree. "I barely got to sleep last night with all that 'noise', Hotaru-chan..." It was becoming quite clear to everyone what Haruka meant by 'noise' especially the way she emphasized it so badly. "And I guess you didn't either, huh, _Hime_-chan?"

"Yeah," Yusuke laughed, reaching over to slap Hotaru's shoulder playfully which in turned frightened her, "I heard her screaming a certain someone's name all last night, it was crazy!" he laughed again which caused Hotaru to blush. So that's why no one came to check up on them last night! They all thought that she and Hiei...Haruka was going to kill them both. Hotaru did the only thing she could think of, and that was to try and explain things rationally without involving the daimon. However, not a single person believed her, not even Kurama which was rather strange on his part. This was a battle Hotaru knew she wouldn't win, and so for the rest of breakfast, simply clammed up and ate without a word. The rest of the group began to voraciously talk again, whether it concerned her and Hiei, she didn't really care...she just didn't want to hear it! Setsuna, who didn't believe her either, tried to comfort her by saying that this was only natural as she in love and such, but it wasn't much consolation.

'This is so embarrassing...' Hotaru thought, nearly biting her chopsticks in two. And to think, what would happen when Hiei learned of this conversation? It turned out to be just the start of another day out of many to come at Genkai's temple. Only 4 more months until the Tenoh-Kaioh-Meioh-Tomoe household was fixed for good.

* * *

Some time later, as Hotaru had stopped her counting of the weeks and months that went by, she finally found herself time to ask Hiei an ever important question.

Even after begging, she was still not permitted to enter _Makai_. Despite the fact that she was technically not a human (as she was born Saturnian), her reincarnated form was definitely that of that a human and she would simply be turned away. Hotaru hated this stupid rule, and sometimes even more did she hate the little team that brought humans back to _Ningenkai_. Had she been a bit more on the sneaky side, she might have faked stumbling through the portal, but knew she would be discovered instantly by Koenma and/or Setsuna and be punished for disobeying them. Much to her dislike, she was forced to wait back in _Ningenkai _until Hiei felt the need to return. He only really did so to check up on her, or at least that was what Kurama had told her.

"Hiei...?" she whispered, head poking out slightly from behind the door that lead to the room he and the other Spirit Detectives were currently situated in. When they offered her to take a seat, she politely declined and motioned for Hiei to follow her outside. This didn't go unnoticed by the fire _youkai_, and after a few minutes, he pursued her a few feet from Genkai's temple. "I'm really glad I was able to catch you here today. You know, I normally come up here every other day to check up on everything. I know that there are a lot of people who come around to fix up the shrine and all, but I just feel the need to help out-"

"Quit rambling. I despise it when you do that. So, what's the point in calling me out here?" Quick and straight to the point...some things never change.

"I want you...to take me to _Makai_." There she said it. She hated the thought of leaving her adoptive parents and friends behind, but she knew this was the right choice. Hotaru knew what she felt in her heart was real and she had to stay with him.

"You know I can't do that. Besides, your human body would be unable to withstand the extreme doses of miasma around Mukuro's territory." There was that name again, she noted. Maybe, just a little part of her wanted to go just to find out who this Mukuro person was.

"Even so, I could stay there for just a little while and see what it's like!"

"It's not exactly paradise, Hotaru. This is _Makai_, after all."

"I understand that..." Hotaru trailed off, unable to think of what to say next. There were a few things she was terrible at, like running and lying; those were probably her worst. However, finding the right words to say at the right moment was also a downfall of hers as well. "If you won't take me, I understand. It's because my body right now is in human form. If I could stay in my senshi form at all times then the miasma wouldn't affect me and neither would the demon aura. Maybe if I was a demon-"

He interrupted her, "Don't wish for something like that."

"Even so," she repeated, "the main reason is...I don't want you to forget about me. You come back to _Ningenkai_ less and less. Maybe I was stupid for thinking everyone could stay together like back then, but the senshi have always stuck together so I just-" This time, she stopped herself from blubbering and calmly wiped at her eyes. "Just don't forget about me, okay?" Hotaru had planned to end it right there, since there was nothing more to be said. Pouring your heart out to someone like him wasn't a very easy thing to do, for various reasons. However, another thought struck her mind, "One more thing before I go...do you remember that time so long ago? It happened here in Genkai's temple when we were attacked by that daimon monster and you had your heart crystal stolen. Do you remember?" Hotaru cast a glance up at him. There was a much older look in her eyes, so different from the time of which she spoke. She wasn't a little girl anymore after all.

He gave a slight nod, unsure of where she was going with this but Hotaru picked back up almost instantly, "That's good," she smiled a ghost of a smile before continuing, "I'm really glad. But, I did some research on heart crystals back then...I couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was about them that made these daimon monsters so hellbent on retrieving them. I was reading through some of my father's old research notes and came across a certain paragraph. It said that a heart crystal is really nothing more than a physical representation of someone's heart. You told me that night that demon's don't have a heartbeat because they don't have heart, and instead you have demonic cores. I just...don't understand it really. It confuses me a lot! Then, I kept reading on and on, and went even further into the notes my father had written when he was possessed, and this is kind of what I came up with. It concerns your Tear Stone." Hotaru couldn't help but notice the flinch of his person when she mentioned the precious jewel around his neck, "I think...because of your mother's intense love for you, the Tear Stone somehow manifested into a make-shift heart crystal. As the heart normally stands for love, this would make a lot of sense. Her love for you manifested itself into physical form to show just how much she cared for you. I figured that you wouldn't have realized this at first because you lost your Tear Stone and only got it back after Mukuro gave it back to you. I know it's a stupid thing to talk about, but I just thought you should know that you do have a sort of heart. You have changed quite a lot...Hiei-kun." It was the first time she'd called him that, as he simply preferred for her to address him without an honorific. Sniffling a little, she gave a small respectful bow and turned to leave. However, she was stopped from moving anywhere when she suddenly felt his presence right behind her back.

Well, this was it, she decided. He was finally going to knock her a new one and send her on her way after all these years of her constantly irritating him. He would only see her love as sympathy for him...Hotaru was always afraid this was how it would turn out. Opening her eyes, she prepared to turn around and meet the worst he had to offer, but before she could, she watched as his dark-draped arms came over her head and passed right by her eyes in the manner of a hug to her shoulders. However, there was no hug, but instead, she found him tying the length of line which held his Tear Stone around her neck.

"Now, I have a reason to come back." he said simply, giving her a very ambiguous answer. Hotaru wasn't sure if he meant that he would come back because he loved her or because he would constantly need to check up on her and the stone's status, but she could hazard a guess, and that _was_ something she was rather good at. She turned then, and they kissed; something the two of them hadn't shared since the attempted start of the take-over of _Reikai_.

After awhile, and after all the greeting and goodbyes had been said at Genkai's temple, Hotaru found herself returning to the common, paved road back to civilization. There, one of Haruka's many cars sat for her. Haruka, these days, had been very much into her motorcycle riding and very unwillingly parted with one of her cars...Michiru's orders. Getting into the driver's side, she quickly buckled herself in but glanced over at the passenger's side. There, laying on its side in the leather chair, was her Hiei doll. Carefully, she untied the cord that held his Tear Stone. She stared at it for only a moment before lightly kissing it, and then proceeded to tie it around the doll's neck. She had to be careful with the doll too, she noted mentally. It was looking a little worse for wear these days, even after Setsuna had fixed it up all those years ago when the daimon monster had popped out from its belly. It's been loved too much, Setsuna explained, referring to its paling complexion and the worn-off ruby-fabric eyes. Hotaru didn't care though...it had been loved just enough.

Hotaru gave another small smile to herself as she drove off. No one would be forgetting anything, not when their hearts were so close together.

_**

* * *

**_

_**You wouldn't believe how long it's taken for me to revamp this, and I know its a little on the long side, but you have to agree it's much better than version 1.0. **_

_**Oh, and if anyone is confused about the timeline at all, here's a bit of explanation: Since both series are being written as post-series, this should make it easier, however, the Sailor Moon dimension had beaten Chaos way before they encountered Sensui, so when the two meet, the YYH dimension was still in their Chapter Black Saga. The majority of the story (save for Hotaru's flashback and the alternate ending part) take place directly after the Three Kings saga which is technically the last official saga. This makes the Senshi and Spirit Detectives having known each other for roughly 2 years, and Genkai is still alive in the beginning. Those two years don't affect the 3-year limit rule for the ruler of Makai, by the way. If you want an even more clear explanation, the majority of the story (excluding Hotaru's flashback) takes place after chapter 173. The alternate ending takes place after chapter 175 of the manga. **_

_**This short story is dedicated to my new, awesome friend Black Dragon Wave Master. If you're still a HotaruxHiei fan yourself, you should review too and let me know you're out there!**_


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